Antiseptic telephone-mouthpiece.



No. 800,907. PATENTED OUT. 3, 1905. W. B. CURTIS.

ANTISEPTIG TELEPHONE MOUTHPIEUE.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 18, 1905.

Fi i.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANTISEPTIC TELEPHONE-MOUTHPIECE.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented Oct. 3, 1905. I

Application filed April 18, 1905. Serial No. 256.220.

To (0U [MIMI/It it 712/114 concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. CUR'rIs, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county ofSan Francisco and State of California,have invented new and usefulImprovements in AntisepticTelephone-Mouthpieces, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to antiseptic and germdestroying attachments fortelephone-mouthpieces. tractive,cheap,and practical antisepticmouthpiece or attachment therefor which will possess all the desiredgerm-destroying qualities without detracting from the appearance orefiiciency of the telophone. The difiiculty with most of these devicesnow in use is that they either interpose some medium in the path of thesound-waves which interfere with conversation, and are thereforeobjected to by telephone companies, or else they set up a se ries ofinterfering vibrations, as where the mouthpiece is made of metal, orelsethey are too expensive to manufacture to be of real practical value.

The present invention consists of the parts and the construction andcombination of parts, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed,having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is aview in partial section of a mouthpiece, showing my invention. Fig. 2 isa similar view showing a modification.

In practicing myinvention I purpose either constructing the mouthpieceand attachment separately and assembling them as in Fig. l or the makingof the attachment and mouthpiece integral, as shown in Fig. 2, and whichdifi'erent constructions will be hereinafter more fully described.

In Fig. 1 A represents a telephone-mouthpiece such as now commonly used,having a reduced threaded portion 2 to screw into a telephone stand orbox B and provided with the transverse perforated partition 3. If amouthpiece of this character is used without proper sanitaryprecautions, dust and healthdestroying germs will find lodgment withinthe mouthpiece and on each side of the perforated diaphragm 3. Anyabsorbent for a suitable antiseptic placed between the partition 3 andthe transmitter will seriously interfere with the proper passage of thesoundwaves. I have designed and have successfully used a holder for asuitable antiseptic,

which holder is placed entirely outside of- Its object is to provide asimple, at.

the mouthpiece and out of all interference with the passage of thesound-waves, and yet will operate to destroy all germs that mightotherwise collect within the mouthpiece on either side of the partition3 or in the threads between the end 2 of the mouthpiece and the threadedsocket into which it screws. Accordingly the mouthpiece proximate to thethreaded part 2 is turned down, as here shown, or otherwise providedwith a suitable shoulder or shoulders 4, adapted to abut against anannular holder 5. Thisholder may be of any suitable size or design, butneed not be very large, and is perferably made of such attractive shapeas not to mar the appearance of the telephone orappear cumbersome. Thisholder is provided with an annulus 6, of some suitable absorbentmaterial, such as felt, and

the open end, or that end of the holder to-' ward the stand, is closedby an annular cap 7, which is preferably removable, as here shown, andis provided with an outwardly-extending peripheral flange 8 and alsowith the perforations 9. The thickness of the holder preferably does notexceed the width of the turned-down portion on the mouthpiece or thedistance from the ledge 4 and the inner end of the threaded part 2, themouthpiece, holder, contents, and cap being held in position by simplyscrewing the mouthpiece into the regular telephone stand or box. Thatportion of the exterior surface of the mouthpiece which is within theholder is in direct contact with the absorbent filling, and the holderis radially perforated, as shown at 10, to permit of the vapors or fumesfrom the disinfectant with which the filler is proposed to be saturatedpassing into the mouthpiece and on either side of the perforateddiaphragm 3. Also in order that the joint between the threaded part 2and the socket into which it screws should be properly disinfected I runa series of longitudinal peripheral channels 11. By using a cover 7 forthe holder and having it fit snug within the holder and against theoutside of the mouthpiece the contents of the holder remain unimpairedfor quite a long time, since evaporation can take place only through theradial perforations 10. The perforations 9 in the cap admit of thesaturation of the filler after the parts are assembled and before beingplaced on the telephone-stand and avoiding the necessity of handling themedicated filler.

In the modification shown in Fig. 2 the mouthpiece A is provided withasuitablyshaped annular flange 6, proximate to the threaded end of theholder and adapted when the mouthpiece is screwed in position to inclosea suitable annular space for the medicated filler. If desired, thisholder may be provided with a removable cap or cover 7.

The mouthpiece is perforated similarly as in the first instance to allowthe disinfecting vapors proper circulation.

It is possible that various modifications in my invention may be madewithout departing from the principle thereof, and 1 do not wish to beunderstood aslimiting myself to the specific construction as hereinshown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a telephone stand or box, of a mouthpiecescrewing thereinto and an annular disinfectant-holder surrounding themouthpiece and held thereby against the stand, said mouthpiece havingradial perforations communicating with the space within the holder.

2. The combination with a telephone stand or box, of a mouthpieceattached thereto and provided with a perforated diaphragm and an annulardisinfectant-holder surrounding the base of the mouthpiece, said holderbeing open toward the stand or box, and an annular cap to close saidopen end, said mouthpiece having radial perforations communicatingdirectly with a space upon each side of the diaphragm.

3. The combination with a telephone or like mouthpiece having aperforated diaphragm, of a disinfectant-holder having perforationsleading to a space upon each side of the diaphragm.

4:. The combination with a telephonemouthpiece having a means at one endfor the attachment to a telephone stand or box and also having proximateto said end a perforated diaphragm and an annular holder surroundingsaid mouthpiece, said mouthpiece perforated on either side of saiddiaphragm, said perforations opening into the chamber in said holder.

5. The combination of a telephone-mouth piece having a perforateddiaphragm, of a holder outside of and carried by the mouth piece, saidmouthpiece having passages connecting the interior of the holder with aspace on each side of said diaphragm.

6. The combination with a telephone-stand or like support of amouthpiece attached thereto, an annular holder surrounding themouthpiece and abutting against said stand and held to the latter by thesame means by which the mouthpiece is held in position, an absorbentfiller for said holder, said mouthpiece having a diaphragm, and meansconnecting the fillerchamber with a space on each side of the diap hragm 7. A telephone-mouthpiece having means of attachn'ientat one end toa telephone-stand or the like and provided with an annular flangeproximate to said end, an absorbent filler inclosed by said flange, saidmouthpiece having a perforated diaphragm and having ports connecting thefiller-chamber with a space upon each side of the diaphragm.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

. \VILLIAM B. CURTIS. WVitnesses:

CHAS. E. TOWNSEND, D. B. RICHARDS.

